This book is about the adventures of Memed, the soon of a poor peasant, who grows up being abused by a local landowner. He manages to escape, and eventually grows to be a brigand, transforming into a Robin Hood character, and eventually gains the approval of the poor villagers, who are also oppressed by the feudal lords and the incompetent government. As such, the plot is relatively simple, and there's no doubt that our hero will always triumph, even at the very end (yes, he kills his arch-enemy in the book's final scene), yet nevertheless, the book is very captivating and kept me turning the pages rather fast.
What I liked the most is the very vivid descriptions of rural Anatolia. This is a place of the world that I unfortunately haven't explored yet, so reading the geographic descriptions was definitely something I found enjoyable. And even if the plot progression was relatively predictable, I still found myself rather in a state of suspense. I've kept on asking myself, whether Memed would be captured this time around, or whether he would still succeed.
Turkish literature is not something I regularly pick up, aside from one very prominent Turkish writer, I don't pick up Turkish novels quite often. I must say that I am glad to have picked up this one, as it's a very entertaining and enjoyable read. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to read an adventure, especially a fast-paced one. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
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